Ezekiel Chapter 30

At a Glance

  • Ezekiel 30 expands the judgment motif, shifting attention from Egypt’s pride to the broader imminent catastrophe that will befall multiple nations.
  • The text paints a comprehensive image of devastation: swords, desolations, the shaking of foundations, and social collapse.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Ezekiel 30 belongs to the same exile-period frame as ch.
  • - The universality of judgment: God’s judgment is not limited to one nation but expands to multiple powers and their interdependencies.

Ezekiel 30

Chapter Overview

Ezekiel 30 expands the judgment motif, shifting attention from Egypt’s pride to the broader imminent catastrophe that will befall multiple nations. The oracle opens with a vibrant cry: “Howl ye, Woe worth the day!” The day of the Lord presses in as a cloudy, ominous time for the heathen, signaling that God’s judgment will not be isolated to a single nation but will cascade across regions. Egypt remains a central figure, yet the prophecy widens to include Cush, Libya, Lydia, the mingled peoples, and Chub, with other allies or those in league against Israel.

The text paints a comprehensive image of devastation: swords, desolations, the shaking of foundations, and social collapse. The poet-prophet emphasizes that the fall of Egypt will reverberate through regional power structures, affecting cities, idols, and governance. The chapter also anticipates divine fire and the stripping away of pride by removing images, rulers, and the idols of the land. Nebuchadnezzar’s coming destruction appears as the sword of judgment—Babylon, the instrument by which God will apply discipline. The rhetoric intensifies as it envisions not just political defeat but spiritual impoverishment—habitations emptied, rivers dried, and a land put to desolation as a sign to the nations that the Lord is in control. Ultimately, the oracle reveals how judgment purges arrogance, reorders power, and calls the world to recognize Yahweh as sovereign over all human enterprise.

Historical & Literary Context

Ezekiel 30 belongs to the same exile-period frame as ch. 29, part of the oracles against foreign nations (often framed as oracles against the nations). The date is later in Ezekiel’s timeline, continuing the Babylonian conquest narrative and divine pedagogy through vivid, graphic imagery. The genre blends prophetic proclamation, lament, and catalog-like announcements of regional calamities. The import is not only future destruction but a spiritual and moral reckoning that dislodges national gods from their places of influence and exposes human pretension. In the larger book, these oracles against Egypt and surrounding nations function as a corrective to misplaced trust and as a verification of Yahweh’s unique sovereignty amidst geopolitical intrigues. They also lay groundwork for Israel’s future restoration by exposing the idols and false securities that must be renounced.

Key Themes

- The universality of judgment: God’s judgment is not limited to one nation but expands to multiple powers and their interdependencies.

- The breaking of false securities: Idols, military might, and alliances are exposed as fragile when confronted by divine justice.

- Sovereignty of Yahweh over geopolitics: Even the strongest empires cannot thwart God’s plan or escape His control.

- The call to repentance through consequence: Desolation serves as corrective discipline, inviting nations to turn from pride.

- The interwoven fate of nations: The downfall of powerful states reshapes regional order and reveals the true ruler of the world.

Modern Application

For today’s readers, Ezekiel 30 is a sobering mirror about national and personal dependencies. It invites believers to question where they find security: in military strength, economic growth, or political influence? The chapter’s vision of desolation across multiple nations challenges complacency and urges humility, repentance, and a renewed worship of God above all national pretensions. It also offers a broader lens on current crises: financial collapse, political upheaval, or social decay can be interpreted as God’s instrument to awaken people to dependence on Him rather than on created things. Practical takeaways include reevaluating strategic priorities, seeking justice and mercy in leadership, and fostering inter-nation humility and intercession. The chapter reinforces the biblical pattern that sin has communal consequences, and restoration begins with recognizing the Lord’s sovereignty.

- Ezekiel 29 (Egypt’s judgment)

- Jeremiah 25 (Babylonian threat and judgment)

- Isaiah 47 (Babylonian judgment and idol destruction)

- Daniel 5 (divine overruling of earthly powers)

- Psalm 33 (God’s sovereignty over nations)

Recommended Personas

- Ezekiel (the prophet’s vantage point)

- Daniel (recognition of divine sovereignty in foreign courts)

- Jesus (teaching on true security and the kingdom of God)

- Paul (theology of patience, endurance, and divine power)

- Deborah (leadership under divine direction amid crisis)

Chapter Text

1

The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

2

Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!

3

For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.

4

And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.

5

Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

6

Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.

7

And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.

8

And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.

9

In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.

10

Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.

11

He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.

12

And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it.

13

Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.

14

And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.

15

And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.

16

And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.

17

The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity.

18

At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.

19

Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

20

And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

21

Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.

22

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.

23

And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.

24

And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.

25

But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.

26

And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Discuss This Chapter with Biblical Personas

Explore Ezekiel Chapter 30 with Biblical figures who can provide unique perspectives grounded in Scripture.

Ask Apostle PaulAsk MosesAsk King DavidAsk Jesus Christ
← Ezekiel 29Ezekiel 31 →